Roger instinctively tried to utter an incantation to release a spell, but the speed of his incantation couldn’t match that of the fireball.

He only managed to pronounce one syllable when the Minor Fireball slammed into him.

Boom!!!

The stitched monster had half of its arm blasted off, and the splattered flames ignited Roger’s black robe.

The stitched monster, not far in front of Roger, instinctively used its arm to shield its master from the incoming spell when it saw the fireball approaching.

“Good, it hurts.” All the mouths on the stitched monster let out a collective wail. “Don’t be afraid, protect, protect, I’ll protect you.”

The stitched monster turned around and spoke to Roger again, its multiple mouths producing layered voices.

Roger halted the spell on his lips, preparing to retaliate against the assailant who had ambushed him!

Lynn hadn’t expected the stitched monster to willingly shield the wizard from the spell. Didn’t they say stitched monsters had low intelligence? Yet, here was one displaying such loyalty.

Roger chanted an incantation for a while, and in the next moment, a ball of black light emanated from in front of him. The black light then expanded outward, forming a black semicircular shield that firmly enveloped him at the center.

This black shield absorbed all light, making it impossible to see the specific situation inside.

Lynn only knew that his illusion had been shattered.

What kind of spell was this? A defensive spell?

“Are you one of those nobles sent to silence me?” Roger’s hoarse voice echoed from within the black shield. “What’s this? When you needed me, you purchased the plague powder, and now that the epidemic is spreading beyond control, you want to silence me?”

Roger emitted a creepy laughter.

Lynn didn’t expect to hear a shocking secret—a revelation that, for the Erdolu Kingdom, was earth-shattering. The devastating plague sweeping through the northern territories originated from the hands of the person before him.

Lynn remained silent. While he came to eliminate the person, it wasn’t because of the plague. The revelation of the plague’s origin only made Lynn’s mission to kill him less psychologically burdensome.

Seeing no response, Roger thought he had seen through everything.

“I had already guessed that this day would come for me.” The hoarse voice emanated from the black shield.

Lynn furrowed his brow, continuing to concentrate on murmuring the incantation in a low voice.

A fireball gradually took shape in front of Lynn, a scorching and searing sphere of flames burning fiercely.

“You’re not playing fair!” Roger’s furious voice echoed from within the circular shield.

After that, Roger fell silent, apparently concerned that Lynn might pinpoint his exact location through sound recognition.

A hint of surprise flickered in Lynn’s eyes. If he couldn’t see inside from the outside, he assumed the reverse would also be true. However, that wasn’t the case.

Observing the outside from within was possible with this spell. Lynn could now make some educated guesses about the general effects of this spell.

The opponent was likely just an apprentice wizard, primarily wielding zero-ring spells. Zero-ring spells were generally single-effect spells, as compound spells, due to their complexity, typically fell outside the realm of zero-ring spells.

So, the effect of this spell was likely to create a one-way concealment of the caster’s location—a rather practical spell. As Lynn pondered this, he chanted the final syllable.

This time, without the concern of a sneak attack, Lynn unabashedly unleashed his mental energy. However, he soon realized that after his mental energy entered the black circular shield, he perceived two distinct targets—one large and one small.

Aiming for the smaller target, Lynn swiftly cast a Minor Fireball spell, resembling an orange meteor streaking through the air.

Roger had hidden behind the stitched monster, and once again, the stitched monster took the hit for him.

Simultaneously, Roger completed his incantation.

Lynn observed a gray ray flying towards him from the black shield, but a transparent barrier stopped it a few feet from his body, leaving no trace of its existence.

Lynn continued casting spells for the fireball, unbothered by the predictability of the spell sequence. As long as it worked, he didn’t care about the routine.

He refused to believe that the stitched monster could withstand several of his fireballs.

After all, this was a spell—Minor Fireball spell, not a mere lighter.

The stitched monster was nothing more than a bulky monster stitched together from human or animal corpses.

Foul-smelling corpse oil, rancid fat—each component was a highly flammable substance.

Lynn could already smell the strange, burnt odor of fat combustion.

And another fireball shot out.

The third hit on the stitched monster.

“Ah, it hurts, it hurts so much!” The wail of the stitched monster echoed.

A gray ray shot out from the black circular shield toward Lynn, only to be entirely blocked once again by the transparent barrier.

The two of them were like two low-defense chickens pecking at each other. You throw a spell, and I throw one too. However, one of the chickens was equipped with gear that didn’t belong to its level.

Seeing his spells ineffective and the stitched monster taking a beating, seemingly on the brink of destruction, Roger’s furious voice echoed.

“Damn it, stop! Stop it! I’ll give you anything you want.”

Lynn seemed oblivious to Roger’s plea and continued chanting the incantation.

A new fireball materialized in front of him.

A figure dashed out from the black circular shield. Sᴇaʀᴄh the NøᴠᴇlFire.nᴇt website on Gøøglᴇ to access chapters of nøvels early and in the highest quality.

It was Roger.

Behind Roger, a raging fire burned, with a massive hole blown into its abdomen. Its body was riddled with burning craters, and molten fat, still aflame, trickled down from the stitched monster, dripping onto the ground.

With its last remaining hand, the stitched monster reached out to Roger’s shoulder. “Protect, protect you.”

The flames in the eye sockets of the skeleton flickered as he ran ahead, indicating that his mood was far from calm. Roger’s irritable voice shouted at the stitched monster behind him. “Who the hell asked you to protect? You’re just a puppet I created, a stitched monster. You’re not her—you’re just my meat shield!”

The stitched monster halted, its blood-soaked face showing confusion. Its voice suddenly softened. “Protect… Mom just wanted to protect you.”

“You’re not her! My mom died a long time ago. You’re just a substitute I made from her corpse!” Roger screamed in despair.

He thought he could justify using it as a substitute, finding solace in the pain of losing loved ones.

He believed he could make it charge into battle for him without any psychological burden, even serving as a human shield.

But hearing those clumsy yet stubborn calls beneath the similar face, he realized he couldn’t do it.

It wasn’t true that turning into an undead wizard meant acquiring a cold, heartless interior, immune to external influences.

“The substitute also wants to protect you.” The stitched monster stood behind, rubbing its small hands in confusion, speaking softly after a while.

Roger turned to look at Lynn, “My fate is in your hands, but I have a request. Spare it a way out. It’s weak and has no potential—it poses no threat to you.”

Pausing for a moment, Roger continued, “As a reward, I can give you the entire inheritance I obtained. This inheritance is unique to me, and if I die, you’ll only gain two experimental materials at most.”

Roger stared straight at Lynn, the flames in his eye sockets burning intensely.

Lynn pondered for a moment, “Alright, but I have a condition too. I want to see the inheritance first.”

Roger nodded in silence, then raised his right hand and reached for his eye sockets.

He then seized his own soul flame and forcibly pulled it out.

In a sudden instant, the breath on Roger’s body weakened to the last thread.

The flames in his eye sockets shrank to the size of pinpricks, almost extinguishing.

Roger’s skeletal frame swayed, emitting a friction sound.

Following Roger’s control, the soul flame in the palm of his hand gradually transformed into a gray bead.

“Here, I hope you keep your promise.” Roger tossed the bead to Lynn.

The next moment, Roger’s skeletal frame collapsed with a resounding crash.

The stitched monster stared at the scattered bones, bewilderedly surveying its surroundings. It sat on the ground, desperately cramming the broken bones into its belly, attempting to fuse them back together.

However, it failed. Its abdomen remained empty, with only a massive hole. The bones it tried to cram in fell out from the other side.

“Painful, so painful.” The stitched monster’s shoulder, adorned with a woman’s face sewn with several threads, uttered a hollow voice.

Lynn observed the stitched monster. His spells were ready, awaiting any sign of hostility from the monster.

The stitched monster, finally cradling Roger’s skull, pressed its face against it, just like the first time they met twenty-eight years ago. “Mom is useless—Mom will be with you.”

Like a machine suddenly losing power, the necromantic energy in the stitched monster’s body rapidly dissipated.

——

Sᴇarch the NøᴠᴇlFire.nᴇt website on Gøøglᴇ to access chapters of nøvels early and in the highest quality.

Tip: You can use left, right keyboard keys to browse between chapters.Tap the middle of the screen to reveal Reading Options.

If you find any errors (non-standard content, ads redirect, broken links, etc..), Please let us know so we can fix it as soon as possible.

Report
Do you like this site? Donate here:
Your donations will go towards maintaining / hosting the site!